Part One of The Stitched AU
A JSE Fanfic
[Hey guys! This is the start of a completed fanfic series of mine, the Stitched AU! There are 24 total chapters, of which this is the first. I started this October of 2018 and finished it May of 2021.]
[After a strange, tragic event seemed to kill their friends Marvin and Jackie, Chase, Jack, and Schneep find themselves haunted by a strange being called Anti. Joined by a man named JJ who has knowledge of magic, they try to discover the truth of Anti, and are surprised to find him connected to Jackie and Marvin. But how deep do these connections go? And is the group willing to brave so much pain and tragedy for friends who might not ever come back?]
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The city was peaceful from this high up. The lights below seemed to float in the darkness, a bit like boats bobbing in the water. A half moon dangled high above. It kept watch over the sleeping citizens, much like the man in the red jumpsuit sitting on the roof.
Jackieboy was tired. But it was the content, satisfied kind of tired that came after a job well done. There’d been a series of muggings recently. The perpetrator forced citizens at knife point to hand over all their valuables before stabbing them and fleeing. Luckily, Jackie had managed to catch the criminal before anybody died. He’d left the man off at the police station with a note explaining everything. The cops would know what to do; they’d been receiving similar drop-offs for a couple months now.
The hero stood up and stretched. It was late, and he should at least try to get some sleep. He jumped off the roof onto a fire escape, then climbed down and made his way toward the apartment he shared with his roommate, Marvin.
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There was a warm yellow light coming from the apartment’s window, shining through the drawn curtains. Jackie sighed. He really should’ve expected this. He leaned forward and knocked on the glass. There was a startled crash, then footsteps, and the window was thrown open. Jackie climbed through and came face to face with Marvin. His cat mask was hanging around his neck and his hair was a mess. “Can’t you come in the fucking door like a normal person?” he asked, exasperated.
“Not unless I want Stephanie at the front desk thinking ‘hmm, that guy didn’t leave through the door, how’d he get out? What does he have to hide?’” Jackie looked around. The apartment was still messy, just like it had been when he left earlier that night. Dirty clothes on the couch and floor, unwashed dishes on the coffee and end tables. Marvin’s laptop was open on the desk in the corner. Jackie glanced over at it. “What’re you looking at?”
Marvin moved between Jackie and the laptop. “Nothing. Spells.”
Ah, yes. Marvin’s little hobby of trying out magic. He’d started with the conventional, slight of hand kind, but somehow he’d stumbled upon websites that instructed people in wizardry and witchcraft, like Harry Potter. Jackie didn’t think it would work, but it made Marvin happy, and also it would be really cool if it did work, so whatever.
“Anything exciting happen tonight?” Marvin asked, clearly trying to distract Jackie from the laptop.
“I finally caught that mugger,” Jackie said. “You?”
“Maybe. I need to look at it a bit more,” he replied in his annoyingly vague way.
“Well, Imma go to bed now. You should too, sometime.” The hero pulled off his mask, and disappeared through the door to his room. “Goodnight,” he called.
“Night, dude.” Marvin stood stock-still. The muffled sounds of Jackie getting ready for bed could be heard through the thin walls. Once they faded, he burst into movement, quickly walking back to the desk and sitting down, staring once more at the site open on the computer screen.
He knew Jackie, with his righteous morals and heroism, wouldn’t approve of what he was looking at. Even if he didn’t believe in magic, the fact that his roommate would be searching for spells like this would probably set off some alarm bells in his head. Marvin remembered also being hesitant when he found the first website cataloging this type of magic. But…wasn’t it just fascinating? The things people could do with a few incantations or a couple specific tools? And if somebody came after him, somebody who was a real threat, wouldn’t it be better if he could fight them off? Jackie acquired a lot of enemies in his line of work. Marvin had to be prepared for the day when they came after the two of them.
Or at least, that was what he told himself. That was how he justified the thrill he felt whenever he perfected one of these spells. That was how he explained the dreams of using his talents to become world famous, and showing all the competition, whatever it takes. That was why Marvin hadn’t told Jackie yet. Somehow, he couldn’t shake the thought that the hero would call him out on these feelings even he denied.
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Two weeks later, Jackie sprinted through the streets of the city, furious. The charges against the mugger had been dropped. The dude had one hell of a lawyer, and somehow he got off without even community service. How?! There were several witnesses who would testify against him! Also, several victims with stab wounds! And somehow, they’d let him go without even a trial to give the damning evidence a chance to shine.
And what do you know? Jackie turned a corner to see a young woman being pulled into an alleyway by the mugger. She was kicking and screaming, but he had a knife and she didn’t. Jackie growled, and put on a burst of speed.
“I don’t have any money!” The woman pleaded.
“You have those nice earrings, dont’cha?” The mugger rasped. Jackie could see his blade gleaming in the light that dribbled into the alley from the lamps on the street beyond. His vision went red with rage.
The mugger didn’t even get the common courtesy of being told he was about to get his ass kicked. Jackie just rushed forward and tackled him. “GO!” he shouted at the young woman, who didn’t hesitate to follow his advice.
“You again?!” The mugger growled. “Didn’ you get the point last time?” He tried to stab, but Jackie dodged. The knife still grazed him, drawing a thin line of pain across his face. Too furious to feel it, Jackie hit the mugger with all his strength, knocking the man’s head backwards. He followed it up with a knee to the gut, then wrenched the knife out of the mugger’s hand when he was down.
“Not so tough without this, huh?!” Jackie waved the blade in his face. Another few punches, and the mugger fell to ground. “I’m tired of doing this shit over and over! Running in fucking circles!” He stomped on the mugger’s face with a satisfying crunch. Gave him a few more kicks for good measure. “Count yourself lucky I have other places to be!” He gave the mugger an adrenaline-fueled grin, then turned on his heel and stomped away.
It took him a few minutes to realize he was still holding the knife. When he did, he dropped it in shock. Had he really….had he really just done that?
A wave of nausea rolled over the hero. He hadn’t…hadn’t wanted to go after the mugger with such a vengeance. He’d just been so—so angry. It seemed for every criminal he put away, ten more would spring up. He just wanted the city to be safe, yet there were people always keeping that from him! Couldn’t they just give it a rest? Couldn’t they just leave him alone?
Jackie didn’t want to take the knife again, but he also didn’t want it out on the street for anyone to grab and use to stab yet more people. So he leaned over and picked it up, before making his way home.
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“It’s just so annoying,” Jackie griped the next day. He and Marvin were out on the town, running errands. Jackie needed some red cloth to repair his suit and some materials to make it more bulletproof, and Marvin…Marvin was doing his vague thing again, just saying he needed stuff to try out a spell.
“I think I’m finally understanding what Captain America feels like when he goes up against HYDRA,” Jackie sighed. “Cut off one head, two more takes it place. I’ve never heard anything more true.”
“Maybe if you were a bit harsher, people would be too scared to commit crimes.” Marvin said it in a nonchalant tone, but Jackie glared at him. Any other day he would’ve gone off on a rant about how he had lines he wouldn’t cross, and if he did it would make him just as bad as them…but today he still had the mugger’s knife, wrapped in a cloth in his hoodie pocket. He hadn’t felt right leaving it in the apartment. He didn’t know why.
“Maybe if I had actual powers, the threat of me would do that same thing.” Jackie rolled his eyes.
“Um, would you like to have actual powers?” Marvin hesitated to bring it up, but…there was a chance he could help a friend out here.
“That’s like asking a dog if he wants a bone,” Jackie said. “Duh.”
“Well, you know that spell I was looking at a few weeks ago?” Marvin asked tentatively. “If it works, there’s a chance we could both get cool magic abilities that are a lot like superpowers.”
“If,” Jackie repeated. But Marvin could tell he was interested by the way he kept glancing at the magician whenever he thought he wasn’t looking. A few minutes passed in silence before Jackie finally said, “So…how would that work?”
“There’s a ceremony,” Marvin explained. “I need some materials, and it needs to take place on a new moon, which is tomorrow night. Then I say some magic words, and hey presto, we got powers!”
Jackie considered. There was a rise in crime recently. And it would be helpful to, say, fly or lift cars. Not to mention awesome. So… “What d’you need?”
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It felt odd to be awake at night and not be out on patrol. Jackie couldn’t help but glance toward the window every so often. The city outside seemed unchanged. But the same couldn’t be said for the inside of the apartment. All the furniture had been pushed to the edge of the wall, and there was a circle drawn on the floor in ash. Five black candles stood vigil around the perimeter, alight. Jackie couldn’t help but fiddle with the amulet he was wearing. Marvin had made it, and an identical one for himself.
Jackie still had the knife in his pocket.
The magician was flipping through loose pieces of paper, on which he’d written some nonsense-looking words. He glanced at his watch. “Alright, midnight is in two minutes. Get in the circle.”
Jackie swallowed nervously and hesitated for a moment before he did so. Marvin mirrored his movements, carefully stepping over the line of ash so he wouldn’t mess it up. He breathed in shakily. “Okay, here we go.”
Marvin started chanting the words he’d written on the paper. For a minute, Jackie felt stupid standing in the middle of a circle wearing a homemade necklace. But then said necklace began getting warm…and then getting hot. And then getting really hot. Luckily Marvin had warned him about his, or he might’ve yelled and teared off the amulet. Still, he gritted his teeth and fought against the urge to fling it away.
Purple smoke ran across the floor of the room like an early-morning mist. The candle flames flickered, then flared, then turned a sickly green. The warmth from the amulet was spreading through Jackie’s chest, and when he looked down he saw it was glowing the same green color. Marvin’s was too.
“Ot illia enki perr…” Marvin was chanting. “un’u pro un’a, porivike…”
Marvin hadn’t given a lot of details about this part. He’d dropped clues, saying that the two of them should begin to feel the change. But instead of feeling the power he’d been promised, Jackie was starting to feel faint. His head was swimming, and he was swaying, trying hard to stay on his feet. “Marvin…” he whispered.
The magician didn’t answer. “Ita kqu e robahamunr, nis nisr tris…”
“Marvin!” Jackie stumbled forward. “This is wrong!”
The alarm on Marvin’s watch went off, beeping in an annoying fashion. The green flames of the candles flared again, reaching halfway to the ceiling. The purple fog thickened, up to their waists. Marvin looked at his friend, apprehensive…and a little sad. “This is supposed to happen, Jackie,” he said quietly. “It’s an exchange of power.”
Jackie was struck with a sudden realization. “So you’re—you’re stealing my—my energy?!” He felt the fury and red-hot anger, once again rising.
“No, I’d never do that,” Marvin shook his head vehemently. The fog was swirling around them. “I’m giving you something of mine in exchange. I get your stamina, you get my mental prowess, along those lines. Then they’re enhanced. We’ll get our powers.”
“You didn’t tell me,” Jackie balled his hands into fists. “You—this is betrayal.”
“Jackie, please, you never would’ve agreed,” Marvin pleaded. The flames had parted from the candles, joining the fog in spinning around the two.
“Damn right I wouldn’t’ve!” Jackie yelled. “You think I’m gonna let you take some part of me?! Huh?! Even if I get something, I’m not gonna be me, Marvin! I’m not gonna be the hero anymore!” Without warning, he lunged forward, toward the man he thought was his friend.
Marvin dodged, staying inside the circle. “Jackie, no!” he gasped. “We’re in the middle of the spell. If we interrupt it, everything could go wrong!”
“I don’t care!” Jackie roared. “It can’t get any worse!”
Another lunge forward, this time coupled with a swinging fist. It hit Marvin squarely in the jaw, and he stumbled backward. Jackie went in for another hit. Marvin raised his arms and defended himself just in time. But he couldn’t fight back against Jackie’s relentless onslaught. All he did was block, as the magic of the spell whirled faster and faster, encasing the two in a bubble of purple and green.
Then, Marvin let his guard down for less than a second, and Jackie knocked him to the floor. Marvin’s head hit the edge of the magic bubble with a painful crack. While he was dazed, Jackie pinned him with one hand. With the other, he reached into the pocket of his hoodie and withdrew the knife, freed from the cloth it had been wrapped in.
Marvin’s eyes widened. “Jackie, what are you doing?”
“Stop the spell,” Jackie commanded. “Or I swear to god—” he lowered the knife to Marvin’s neck with a nasty grin “—I’ll do it.”
“I-I can’t,” Marvin whispered.
“Can’t or don’t want to?” Jackie asked in an equally low voice.
Marvin hesitated. He knew what he wanted to answer…but he couldn’t. Because both were true. “Can’t you feel it?” he said instead. “The spell is doing its work. It’s gonna happen no matter what.”
Jackie could feel it. The magic was sapping away his strength, the amulet at his neck was spreading its pulsing, electric warmth through his body. It terrified him. He didn’t want to lose himself. But he didn’t want to kill his friend either, despite his threat…he didn’t….did he?
His eyes were drawn to the identical amulet around Marvin’s neck. That had to be an important bit to the spell. The string looked like it would be easy to cut. Jackie steeled his nerves, then adjusted the knife. The string was on the blade, all it needed was one swift stroke.
“Jackie, no…” Marvin rasped. “I-I want to help you. This helps us both. Let me do it.” It wasn’t wrong. But it wasn’t right enough.
Jackie looked him square in the eyes. He smiled. “Say goodbye to your dreams of power, Marv.” And with one swift, wild motion, he cut.
“No!” Marvin moved suddenly. It wasn’t too much, but with Jackie’s too-wide swing, it was enough. The knife came away bloodied.
Horrified, Jackie stared at it. Marvin made a horrible choking noise, and Jackie turned his attention to him…and the red smile across his neck. “I didn’t…” The “hero” couldn’t get the words out. Because, of course, he did.
The magic around them froze. It wanted to keep the spell going, it wanted to keep moving, but it couldn’t with one of the participants dead. Parts of it kept trying to swirl, parts of it stayed in place, parts of it started going in the other direction. The whole thing produced a terrible, shrieking, ear-splitting whine, not unlike that of electronics. The purple darkened to red, even black in some places. The green flames grew brighter.
Jackie looked up at the terrible, breaking, glitching magic. He felt…strange. The spell kept trying to take him apart. It was like his soul wasn’t fully rooted in his body. The magic bubble was shrinking, growing closer. He didn’t care. He closed his eyes, and as the magic collapsed, he dissolved into pixels.
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Schneeplestein was a doctor, not a mortician, for god’s sake. But somehow, all the actual ones weren’t in, either sick or on vacation somewhere. So here he was, making his way down to the morgue where a pair of police officers waited with a pair of bodies who’d apparently died in the most unusual way.
“Yes, yes, officer, I am aware of what is required of me, but I need the bodies to see what is wrong,” he brushed away the cop’s pretentious instructions. “So if you will please let me through so that I can go to…work…”
He knew these faces. Not just because they were so similar to his own. But they were his friends. He shook his head mutely at the two laying side by side. They seemed…emptier, somehow, than the other bodies he’d seen. Was that because he knew them so well in life? Why was a chill running along his spine?
The police filled him in. A neighbor had called the police about the noise, which she described as “yelling, threats, and violent banging.” The cops had checked it out, expecting to find roommates just shouting at each other. Instead, they’d found two bodies in the middle of some sort of black magic circle. One had his throat slit, while the other held the knife. That one was dead too, but they couldn’t figure out what had killed him.
Schneeplestein left. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t preform an autopsy on his friends. He had to tell Jack and Chase what happened. They’d be devastated, but it would hurt less coming from a friend.
He had the strangest feeling that someone—or someones—was watching him as he walked out the hospital door.
He could hear whispers. Take it back, they were saying. Take back what was taken from you. It’s ours. It’s m̵̕ine.
No more sharing. No more helping. No more caring. No more w̷e̵a͝kn̡e̶͝ss̴..
M̩̠̮̬̦̜̗̕i̝͟n̻̖̰͎e̩̫͎̤͔̱̠͝ a̷̬͎̘͟͠l̞̜̹̥̮͍̥o͖̙̗̲͖̱͎̼n̷̡̞̱̣͉ȩ̷̪͔̤̜̼̪̞̤ .
But that was ridiculous.
Right?